5 Types of Malaria and Their Symptoms, the Same or Different? – What are the types of Malaria and their Symptoms? Malaria is a dangerous disease in which the transmission is caused by the bite of infected Anopheles mosquitoes. The mosquito brings Plasmodium parasites that enter the bloodstream when it bites your skin.
Generally, there are some symptoms to suffer once the Plasmodium parasite infects your body. The symptoms can be felt only around 48-72 hours after the parasite infects and multiplies in your body. They are severe fever, sweat, headaches, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, stomach cramp, anemia, muscle pain, bleeding when defecating, and even seizures. However, the symptoms can be more or less depending on the type of malaria that attacks you.
Yes, there are 5 types of Malaria based on the types of Plasmodium parasites. They are Plasmodium falciparum, Plasmodium vivax, Plasmodium ovale, Plasmodium malariae, and Plasmodium knowlesi. So, what are the differences among them? Here is the explanation.
Plasmodium falciparum
Plasmodium falciparum is a type of malaria mostly found in the area of Africa. In other places, it is also often found and it becomes one of the main causes of death in the world. The parasite multiplies very fast in the human body. It causes the patient to lose blood only in some hours and the blood vessel may block also due to the infection.
The symptoms experienced by patients are fever, headache, muscle pain, nausea, diarrhea, anemia, and seizures. Uniquely, the patient may experience a fever with a 3-day cycle. In other words, the fever increases the 3rd day if it is not treated immediately.
Plasmodium vivax
The second most common and most dangerous malaria type is transferred by Plasmodium vivax parasites. Mostly, the type of malaria is found in Asia and South America. Plasmodium vivax may not cause any symptoms to the infected hosts until some months or after the bite of the mosquito.
How can it not bring any symptoms for a long time? Well, it is because the parasite can survive in the inactive condition in the liver for months or even years. Sure, one day, the parasite can be active and bring its symptoms.
The main symptoms of this type of malaria start from fever with chills and then the body temperature increases. Later, the patient sweats a lot. The fever to experience is also different from general fevers, it is called paroxysmal fever for 42-56 hours.
Plasmodium ovale
Different from the 2 types of malaria mentioned earlier, Plasmodium ovale malaria rarely happens and the case tends to be most severe. However, it doesn’t mean you can underestimate this disease, and make sure to get medication help as soon as possible.
Because of the parasite life cycle, the patient tends to suffer a paroxysmal fever every 42 to 56 hours. It means that the level of the fever can increase every of those hours if the patient doesn’t get treatments well.
Other symptoms to experience are pains in muscles, stomach, and headache. Some patients also suffer from diarrhea for several days before getting the right treatment. Check your condition immediately after feeling those symptoms before it gets worse.
Plasmodium malariae
The fourth type of malaria is Plasmodium malariae. There are only a few cases so far and most of them can be cured after getting the right medical treatments. Similar to the Plasmodium ovale type, the symptom is felt by the patient after the parasite has infected the body for a long time, from months to even years.
The symptoms are almost similar to Plasmodium falciparum. Yes, it starts from fever, headache, to seizure. However, the symptoms tend to be lighter. For example, the fever may not be as high as it is on Plasmodium falciparum. Besides, there are only a few patients who experience seizures. Mostly, the seizure is because they don’t get the right treatments after feeling the symptoms.
Plasmodium knowlesi
Lastly, we have the Plasmodium knowlesi type of malaria. Don’t worry too much about this one as it only infects animals, particularly primates. In other words, there is no case that malaria is suffered by humans. But of course, you must still be careful if you have a pet and there are many mosquitoes in the place you are living.
Plasmodium knowlesi is transmitted not only by the bite of mosquitoes. As the parasite is in the blood, the transmission is also from organ transplantation, blood transfusion, or the use of injection. Pay attention also to the tools and toys of your animal, and make sure that they are really clean and safe.
For all types of Malaria, you must also be aware of its complications. Some patients experience other health problems after the disease is gone. Sure, it decreases the patient’s quality of life in the future.
Therefore, make sure to go to the nearest hospital if experiencing malaria symptoms. When you are in Bali, BIMC Hospital Kuta is the right answer for malaria for its professional doctors and staff as well as high-quality treatments.
